The President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, visited China from May 24 to 26. Tshisekedi has been president since January 2019 of a country brimming with immense natural resources, including cobalt which is coveted for the energy transition. The visit came at a tough time for the president. The country’s population has been seeking to benefit from this wealth. On May 12, people took to the streets in Kinshasa, expressing their frustration. Although the demonstrations were organized by opposition leaders Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, whose main concern was boost their image ahead of elections later this year, the protesters were denouncing the rising cost of living and the continuing war in the east.
Shortly after these demonstrations, which were put down by the police, President Tshisekedi traveled to China. Despite having pursued policies that do not prioritize the interests of the people, the Congolese president, by returning from China with several agreements, has taken a step that demonstrates that he has made a sovereign choice for the country: to negotiate with a major Southern power.
For many observers, the main item on the agenda was the renegotiation of the 2008 Sino-Congolese contract for mining and public infrastructure construction in the DRC. Whether the United States or the European Union like it or not, cooperation between the two countries has been strengthened as a result. Some of the key aspects discussed were crucial to peace and the sovereign development of the DRC: the development of the value chain for the production of batteries in the DRC for electric cars and the strengthening of the military partnership and the reaffirmation of multilateralism [Joint declaration between China and the DRC on the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership.]
As Franz Fanon, the emblematic figure of anti-colonialism, once said, “Africa is a revolver whose trigger is in the Congo.” A self-sufficient, industrialized Congo is therefore opposed to the ferocious appetite of the United States and the countries of the European Union, who are determined to weaken the Democratic Republic of the Congo — and by extension the entire continent — by every means possible (media, political, territorial and economic).
Agreements opposed to the will of Western governments
During his visit, the Congolese president met President Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders. President Tshisekedi’s welcome at the esplanade of Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, as well as the various meetings, demonstrated the importance of the visit for both countries and the mutual respect between them. Many commentators saw President Tshisekedi’s visit to China primarily as a renegotiation of the 2008 Sino-Congolese contract signed under President Joseph Kabila. But the visit went far beyond discussions on the renegotiation of a single contract. Cooperation between the DRC and China were strengthened in many areas: education, scientific research, health, infrastructure, mining, agriculture, digital, environment, sustainable development, hydrocarbons, energy, defense and security.
The emphasis placed by some on the renegotiation of the 2008 Sino-Congolese contract prior to the visit reflects the interests of western governments, who, from the outset of the contract, fiercely opposed it along with the international financial institutions. Opposition was vigorous, since under the threat of the International Monetary Fund (dominated by the United States), the DRC was forced to reduce by USD 3 billion the investment in infrastructure initially envisaged in the contract, making it impossible to build all the infrastructure agreed between the Congolese and Chinese parties.
Developing the value chain in DRC
Significantly, the presidents agreed to a partnership in the exploitation and local transformation of natural resources, which would generate added value for the autonomous and sustainable development of the DRC. As the world’s leading producer of cobalt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a natural resources giant that must succeed in maneuvering for its own interests and development for the benefit of its people. At the Cobalt Congress held in Istanbul, Turkey, from May 9 to 11, Mining Minister Antoinette Nsamba Kalambayi spoke of the need to “develop a value chain for the production of batteries for electric vehicles, and this chain should be controlled from extraction, processing and manufacturing to assembly.” In terms of cobalt production, the evolution is striking: the country has increased its share (production by the state-owned company, Gécamines) from 184 T in 2017 to 19,907 T in 2022, representing around 18% of the country’s total production.
Bearing in mind that the DRC signed a protocol first with Zambia, and then with Zambia and the US on strategic minerals (i.e. cobalt, coltan, lithium) in December 2022, the partnership with China on increasing the value chain in the DRC has upset US plans. The US had earlier been unhappy over the deal between the DRC and Zambia and its pressure led to the signing of the tripartite partnership.
Strengthening the military partnership
The President’s visit was preceded by that of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Christophe Lutundula, who had already met his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Affairs Minister Qin Gang, in the DRC on March 17, 2023. During that meeting, Lutundula had asked for China’s support in the face of the M23 aggression, calling for sanctions against Rwanda. In July 2022, he also welcomed China’s support for the Security Council’s lifting of the arms embargo on the DRC.
At the end of their visit to China, the Heads of State decided to intensify exchanges between the two armies and strengthen cooperation, particularly in the fields of equipment, technology, and the military industry. While military cooperation between the United States and Rwanda, and the European Union and Rwanda, has intensified despite the repeated demands of the Congolese people for an end to Rwanda’s military build-up, the agreement between the DRC and China focused on a military partnership for the respect of the DRC’s territorial integrity.
Reaffirming South-South cooperation
The two presidents also reiterated their commitment to South-South cooperation, expressing their determination to safeguard the common interests of developing countries, and to supporting true multilateralism in opposition to the unipolar and warlike strategy of the United States. They also welcomed the creation of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative (GFI) within the United Nations, to which the countries of the South, including the DRC, have mainly subscribed. The Group of Friends was launched in January 2022, with the former Vice-Chairman of the African Union Commission, Erastus Mwencha, declaring that “the IDM is vital for Africa and indeed for the whole world, adding that cooperation and dialogue are the best means of solving global problems.”
